When it comes to dogs nutritional needs pet guardians often find they are stuck between two warring sides. One side is pro “complete & balanced at every meal” and the other is pro “balance over time”.
In this blog we will talk through the the history of pet food, show you how it has evolved into a multi £billion industry, and discuss the pros and the cons for each side of the big argument, and most of all - we will give you all of the information to allow you as the pet guardian (the person with the legal responsibility to feed your dog after all), the ability to make an informed decision, either way.
Where did pet food begin?
Early dog feeding practices relied on rudimentary methods, with canines mainly subsisting on table scraps and meaty bones, those who were working dogs would often be fed scraps from a hunt or from a farm. Wealthier dog owners often procured meat from retired working animals like horses.
However, in 1860, James Spratt (An electrician by trade) observed street dogs consuming leftover sailor biscuits, leading to the development of specialised dog biscuits comprising grains, vegetables, and beef blood.
By 1876, Spratt had registered trademarks for his innovative dog biscuits, marking a significant milestone. Charles Cruft joined Spratt's company, securing contracts and laying the groundwork for future expansion. Crufts went on to create the biggest dog show of them all, Crufts.
Canned pet food emerged in the early 20th century as a convenient alternative to biscuits, driven by advancements in food preservation technology.
Dry pet food, or kibble, was invented in 1956, responding to the growing demand for convenient and shelf-stable pet food. Influencing factors included the reduction in horses available for meat post-war, the end of rationing in the UK (1939-1954), industrialisation, convenience, and market demand. Kibble revolutionised pet feeding, offering convenience and affordability to a wide range of consumers, transforming the pet food industry globally.
Raw pet food has always, throughout history, been a feeding choice, with many working dogs receiving raw produce from hunts, farms and shoots. Raw pet food began to be manufactured to create easy to serve minces, tapping into a much wider market as busy households look for convenient to feed options. In recent years with nationwide delivery options becoming more feasible, the variety of raw pet food available to the whole nation has become much more vast and with the influence of social media there has been a definite uptick in recent years of more and more pet guardians choosing to feed a diet that is close to their dogs ancestral diet as possible.
Who decides what dogs eat?
YOU! Yes that’s right, you as the pet guardian are the number one person responsible for your dogs food. In fact, it is actually written in the Animal Welfare Act 2006, section 9 Duty of person responsible for animal to ensure welfare it states:
“For the purposes of this Act, an animal's needs shall be taken to include:
it’s need for a suitable environment,
it’s need for a suitable diet,
it’s need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns,
any need it has to be housed with, or apart from, other animals, and
it’s need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease.”
BUT, the pet food industry, in the UK alone, is believed to be worth around £3 billion. This means a lot of corporations are vying for their slice of the incredibly high worth pie.
Who controls what goes into today's pet food?
FEDIAF is the trade body representing the European pet food industry, with members from 18 countries and five companies (Affinity Petcare, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Mars PetCare, Nestlé Purina Petcare and Wellpet). The European pet food industry provides a range of carefully prepared products to help ensure long, healthy and active lives of millions of pets in Europe, which are cared for in around 62 million pet keeping households.
FEDIAF is the European version of AAFCO. The FDA instructed the NRC (The National Research Council) to set up a subcommittee to design national minimum nutritional requirements for dogs. This sub committee was AAFCO, who are purely an advisory group, not law or regulation setters.
How do they make these decisions?
AAFCO completes feed trials, using only a small number of dogs, usually about 8. These studies can run from a few weeks to 6 months. None are longer than this. Puppy food trials run for about 10 weeks only, giving red flags as there is no study to show the longer term effects of the food.
These trials do not get independently verified. During these trials, 6 dogs must show no signs of excess or deficiency can be found in any one of the 4 blood markers.
Should the trial fail, it can be repeated as many times as they wish until they get a good result which then leads to the product being manufactured.
The requirements
FEDIAF sets the minimum requirements, that’s right - the bare basics, for nutrients BUT it only states a maximum for a handful of these nutrients.
The recommended protein amount is 18-22% as set out by the NRC. This is based on dry matter basis, and raw pet food labels follow the same analysis so you can compare like for like.
But raw food is high in protein surely?
There is a common misconception that meat is just protein so therefore raw pet food must be high in protein. Actually, raw pet food is roughly 60% moisture. This is not to be compared to water as it is so much more than just water, it is jam packed with nutrients. Then you have to offal, and the bone content. So when anyone mentions to you that raw food is “too high in protein” highlight this to them to help dismiss this myth.
Raw pet food should always contain an analytical composition where it has gone through the same process other food types do to obtain this.
When it comes to protein, the quality is what matters. An ultra processed protein is of significantly less benefit to a dog than a fresh real food protein.
Raw pet food completes vs 801010
80:10:10: This is believed to be as close to a diet as a dog in the wild would get. This is made up of 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 5% liver & 5% other organs (preferably secreting like brains, spleen, kidney, pancreas for example).
In theory, a dog will live on this, however science tells us that this is not enough to truly thrive.
Studies have shown dogs also consume fruit, vegetables, nuts, seed, eggs & fish. Therefore it is recommended you add:
Eggs 2-3 times a week
Small oily fish like sprats, sardines, mackerel, herring 2-3 times a week (using our Fish calculator to guide you on how much to feed)
Non-starchy, dog safe vegetables and fruits up to 10% of the meal although most breeds need less, about 4-6% is sufficient.
If your dog does not tolerate fruits & vegetables well, or you prefer not to feed them, you can opt to instead supplement these nutrients, or you can mix & match how you do it.
Feeding a bone broth designed for dogs or home made
Completes: These came about as a way of making things simpler by giving all that your dog needs however just as with all markets, there are vast differences in the quality of completes.
Many use starchy root vegetables that can lead to itching or yeast overgrowth or even weight gain, or fish oils that can lead to internal inflammation.
⚠️ Some brands even claim to be ‘complete’ when they only contain meat, bone & offal. It is vital you always check full ingredients in what you feed, if they are only meat, bone and offal, treat them as an 801010. Some even use the term ‘complete’ as they synthetically add lab produced vitamins & minerals which leads us down a risky road as this is in effect similar to kibble, these synthetic additives carry malabsorption risks whether too little or too much - a natural diet should include natural nutrients wherever possible.
What is best?
Every dog will of course differ, so it really is up to you how you do things after transitioning, however, we do recommend trying to feed 2 days minimum, of good quality ‘completes’ using our Raw Brands List to help you make an informed buying choice, and adding fresh food or 100% natural supplements on the other days.
Please note: If your complete food (true complete using plant matter like fruit and vegetables) does not contain eggs, oily fish or bone broth these will need to be added accordingly. Some use salmon oil or other fish oils, however we strongly recommend still using some oily fish or Canumi green lipped mussels to booster the intact as per our findings on fish oils in our blog
Pros with feeding complete foods only
Convenient for the pet guardian
Cons with feeding complete foods only
Not all completes are tested to FEDIAF standards. Those that are meet the “minimum” nutritional profile, not the optimum, due to FEDIAF having no optimum feeding guidelines.
Protein variety is difficult as there is not a vast range in complete foods
Ingredient quality can vary between brands
A lot of “complete” brands use salmon oil for omega 3’s rather than actual oily fish, and only one brand includes egg at present meaning oily fish and eggs should still be added to the food.
No brand currently offers bone broth inclusive of their product, again meaning another addition is needed to support joint and gut health.
Testing high quality complete dog food
One of the group owners recently completed a whole month of feeding one of her dogs the highest rated raw pet food on all about dog foods website, Naturaw.
This food contains organic produce, egg and even Atlantic mackerel so it really is top of the range!
During the first week, Arni’s coat was found to not be as smooth as normal so Vic decided to add an extra bit of eggs and fish going forwards, this soon rectified things, but this did prove that every dog is different and some will therefore need small tweaks to even the best completes available to get the desired results.
Supplements vs natural source
Dogs, being carnivores who have adapted through history to tolerate some level of plant matter, require real food for longevity.
As highlighted earlier in this blog, dogs used to eat real food but since the birth of the ultra processed convenience pet food, kibble, the longevity of our canine companions has begun to reduce significantly. Where we all know of a very lucky dog who lived on kibble until the ripe age of 16+, this is sadly rare, with heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, cancer, liver disease, joint disease and more ravaging our dogs lives and sadly stealing many from our world far too young.
As dogs require real food in their diet, pumping them with synthetic (lab generated) vitamins and minerals can mean a change in the bioavailability of these nutrients.
Wherever possible we therefore recommend using whole food sources for your dogs food, or at least using 100% natural supplementation, from a trustworthy source, as this is significantly higher quality of nutrients than a non-natural supplement.
What is best for you to feed your dog?
We honestly cannot advise you either way as every person and dog's situation is unique, however this blog has hopefully given you some insight into pet food that can help you to make an informed decision as to what is best to feed.
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